Roller and tray construction for duplicating machines



June 9, 1964 R. M. FORD ETAL 3,136,244

ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed on. 26, 1962 e Sheets-Sheet 1 June 9, 1964 R. M. FORD ETAL 3,136,244

ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Oct. 26, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 9, 1964 R. M FORD ETAL ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 26, 1962 R. M. FORD ETAL 3,136,244

ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES June 9, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 001;. 26, 1962 June 9, 1964 R. M. FORD ETAL 3,136,244

ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 26, 1962 June 9, 1964 R. M. FORD ETAL 3,136,244

ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Oct. 26, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent 3,136,244 ROLLER AND TRAY CONSTRUCTION FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Ronald Max Ford, Abbotts Morton, and Gordon Frederick Winters, Solihull, England, assignors to Frank R. Ford Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Oct. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 233,220 Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 27, 1961 6 Claims. (Cl. 101132.5)

The present invention relates to duplicating machines herein referred to as being of the kind specified comprisinga body in which is mounted a printing couple comprising a master roller and a pressure roller, between which can be fed copy sheets, previously moistened by passage through or in contact with a moistening device, the machine also including one or more trays which when the machine is in a condition to operate, extend from the printing couple.

In a case where two such trays are provided, one of the trays may be situated at the in-feed side of the printing couple, to support a stack of sheets to be fed into the printing couple, this tray being referred to hereinafter as the feeding tray, and the othertray may be disposed at the delivery side of the printing couple to receive the sheets as they are passed out of the printing couple, and this tray will be referred to as the receiving tray.

The expression tray as used herein, means a member affording an upwardly presented surface for supporting copy sheets, preparatory to and after passage through the printing couple, and whether furnished with a peripheral flange or stop means or not.

It has hitherto been generally the practice for the pressure roller which is mounted under the master roller or a moistening pressure roller forming part of the moistening device to be mounted on the body of the machine, in such a way to permit positional adjustment thereof. The moistening pressure roller usually has positional adjustment is towards and away from a co-operating moistening roller.

The arrangements hitherto adopted for mounting this or these positionally adjustable roller or rollers have com,- prised supports including bearings for the roller concerned disposed beneath the master roller, and not accessible or manipulable from the exterior of the machine so that it is difficult to remove when required, as for example, when the roller is dirty or is found to require replacement. The position of the pressure roller relative to the master roller is moreover critical to the proper working of the machine. Further it is important that none of the rollers shall be left in contact with any co-operating roller for long periods when the machine is not in use.

The reason for this is that the pressure roller is formed from a resilient material, and if it is allowed to remain in pressure contact with the master roller for long periods, such as when the machine is not in use, damage to the pressure roller almost always takes place in the form of the flattening of the surface of the roller by the adjacent surface of the master roller.

Such flattening is often permanent since the material used for the pressure roller is capable of taking up a permanent deformation under sustained pressure, particularly if temperature changes take place during the period, over which the pressure is applied. Similar conditions arise in the moistening device when one roller thereof is made of hard rigid material, for example the moistening roller and another roller is made of a resilient material capable of taking up a permanent deformation, for example the moistening pressure roller.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved duplicating machine of the kind specified where- Patented June 9, .1964

in the pressure roller associated with the master roller and/or the moistening pressure roller may easily be rendered accessible for servicing.

According to the present invention we provide a duplicating machine comprising a body, a first roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, a tray mounted on the body for movement between operating and closed positions, the tray in its operative position having an upwardly-presented surface to support copy sheets during part of their passage through the machine, a second roller rotatably mounted on the tray adjacent to one end thereof, said rollers forming a nip for the passage of copy sheets when the tray is in its operating position, complementary mounting means on the second roller and the tray allowing movement of the second roller relative to the tray in directions towards and away from the first roller when the tray is in its operating position, means for urging the second roller into the desired nipping relation with the first roller, and co-operating guide means on the body and the tray to guide the latter during movement between said positions, said guide means defining a generally translational path for the tray during its initial movement from the operating position to an intermediate position between said operating and closed positions, said translational path being generally tangential to the first roller, the rollers being'out of contact when the tray is at its intermediate position and the second roller being accessible for servicing.

The invention will now be described with reference to a specific embodiment of duplicating machine which is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the duplicating machine in side elevation in the closed position with trays forming end covers of the machine, the side cover having been re moved for clarity, and the mechanism attached to the side plate exposed by the removal of the side cover also being omitted for clarity.

FIGURE 2 shows the machine in side elevation in the operating position with the trays shown in full, by virtue of the removal of the side plate, the inner ends of the trays being in part cross section on the lines II-II in FIG- URE 5.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view showing the mechanism attached to one of the side plates.

FIGURE 4 shows the machine in side elevation with the trays in the intermediate position, the side plate being removed for clarity,

FIGURE 5 shows the machine in plan, with the trays in the intermediate position.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the nounting arrangement for the pressure roller in the tray.

FIGURE 7 is a similar View of the mounting arrangement for the moistening pressure roller.

In this embodiment the duplicating machine comprises a body having two parallel side plates 10 and 11, a base 12 and a top plate 13, the ends being enclosed, when the machine is not in use, by trays 14 and 15, one of which will hereinafter be referred to as the receiving tray 14, and the other as the feeding tray 15.

Below these two trays there are short end plates 16 which form continuations of the trays when the latter are in their closed positions.

The side plates 10 and 11 are encased by detachable side covers 17 which are shown in FIGURE 5.

Between the side plates 10 and 11 there is mounted a master roller 18, the spindle of which extends through the side plate 10 for the purpose referred to hereinafter.

There isalso mounted between the side plates a moistening device which comprises a moistening roller 19 which is on the in-feed side of the printing couple, and there is associated with this moistening roller 19 a trough 20 attached to the side plates which receives the spirit used in the duplicating process, and one side of this trough, which is open topped, is formed by a felt pad 21 mounted in a metal holder 22 which is detachable.

Also mounted on the in-feed side of the printing couple there is a paper feed roller assembly, which is shown in FIGURE to comprise a hexagonal bar 23 having a pair of positionally adjustable rollers 24, this assembly being carried by two brackets 25 pivotally mounted at 26 (FIGURE 3) on the side plates and the bar 23 extending through slots 27 in the side plates.

The feeding tray comprises a main tray portion and an extension 28, which is hingedly connected to the extremity of the tray, so that when the latter is in the closed position, as shown in FIGURE 1, the hinged extension 28 lies along the upper edge of the body of the machine so as to fill the gap between the top plate 13 and the upper end of the main tray portionof the tray 15, this arrangement being seen in FIGURE 1. When the machine is in operation the extension is folded down into a position so as to present, with the upper surface of the tray a generally horizontal copy sheet supporting surface.

The feeding tray also includes a pair of transversely movable angle section paper guides 29, and a sheet metal ramp 3% which supports the copy. sheets as they are fed from the tray 15 into the moistening device. The moistening device also includes a moistening pressure roller 31 which is mounted on the inner end of the feeding tray 15.

The moistening pressure roller 31 is circumferentially ribbed and is held in position in the feeding tray by the arrangement shown in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 7 shows a recess 32 in an integral extension of the tray 15, and into this recess 32 is fitted a generally rectangular block 33, having a notch 34, at one corner and a central aperture 35 and this block is backed by a spring 36 which abuts the bottom surface of the recess 32.

The ram 3% has at each of its ends a turned down tag 37 which overlies the notch 34- in the associated block 33, the tag being secured by a screw 38 near one edge of the recess 32, thus preventing the block from rising under the influence of the spring beyond the confines of the recess. 5

The moistening pressure roller 31 has a spindle 39 which engages in the aperture 35 in the block. Assemblies, such as that shown in FIGURE 7 are provided at opposite sides of the tray.

The receiving tray 14 includes a slidably mounted extension 40 which serves as a paper stop, but serves the same purpose as the extension 28 on the tray 15, when the tray is in the closed position, namely to fill the gap between the end of the tray and the top cover 13. On the inner end of the tray 14 there is mounted the pressure roller 41, which co-operates with the master roller 18 to provide the printing couple when the tray is in the operating position shown in FIGURE 2.

An eccentric spindle 42 having a cylindrical surface excentric to the rotary axis of the spindle is journalled in the side plates 19 and 11 beneath the inner end of d 51 having an external diameter equal to the internal diameter of the notch 50, the inner race of the bearing receiving the end. Similar assemblies are provided at both ends of the pressure roller 41.

The notched plate 49 is held against removal by a tag 5$which is arranged to overlie the top of one of the channels 45, the tag being held in place by a screw 54.

This arrangement permits of vertical adjustment at each end of the pressure roller in the receiving tray 14 by adjustment of the bars 48 in the nuts 47 to augment the adjustment permitted by the eccentric spindle 42, and to permit alignment between the pressure roller and the master roller.

The receiving tray and the feeding tray are both so mounted in the body of the machine so as to permit of their being independently moved between the position shown in FIGURE 1, the closed position when the machine is not in use, and the operating position shown in FIGURE 2 when the trays extend from opposite sides of the printing couple.

The trays are permitted to move along a path between these two positions, and are held in each of the respective positions by guide elements comprising pins and slots in the respective parts as referred to hereinafter.

Each tray has on each of its opposite sides, a slot 55 and there is also provided on each side of each tray a pin 56, situated inwardly of the slot 55, the pins 56 extending outwardly to engage with slots 57 in the side plates 10 and 11.

The slots 55 in the tray have straight central sections and a closed upwardly turned outer end portion 58 and a downwardly turned open inner end portion 59. The side plates are each provided with pins 60 having rollers mounted for rotation thereon, extending inwardly to enthe tray 14 when the latter is in its operating position 7 whereby rotation of the eccentric spindle by means of the control 43 (FIGURE 3) raises and lowers that end of the receiving tray 14 on which the pressure roller 41 is mounted, thus moving the pressure roller towards and away from the master roller 18.

The arrangement for holding the pressure roller 41 in the tray 14 is seen in FIGURE 6 and comprises the provision, in an integral extension of the tray 14, of a recess 44 having guide channels 45, arranged on opposite sides of the recess, and extending vertically, the base of the recess being provided with a further hexagonal recess 46 into which a self locking nut 47 fits, the nut engaging with a threaded bar 48, the upper end of which engages on a plate 49 having a part circular notch 50, which plate slides vertically in the channels 45 in the recess 44.

The notch 50 in the plate 49 receives a ball bearing gage in these slots 55 in the trays.

The slots 57 in the side plates differ from one another, those for the receiving tray 14 each having an inward end portion which is of increased width at its extreme inward end so as to permit vertical adjustment of the tray, by means of the eccentric spindle 42, as previously described, the remainder of each of these slots being approximately the same width as the diameter of the pin 56 on the associated tray.

Each slot 57 for the feeding tray 15 has an upwardly inclined inner end portion so that as the tray is moved towards the operating position the moistening pressure roller is only brought into contact with the moistening roller during the last part of the travel of the tray 15.

The lower leading edge 61 of each tray is cut away so as to permit the tray to pass obstructions such as, in the case of the receiving tray 14, the eccentric spindle 42.

The trays are also movable into a second or intermediate position, shown in FIGURE 4, in which the rollers mounted onthe ends of these trays are accessible for serv1cing or replacement as may be required, and the accessibility of these rollers is also apparent from FIGURE 5, which shows the parts in the same position as they occupy in FIGURE 4. Each slot 57 has two positions extending at right angles to oneanother, one portion being generally horizontal and terminating in the inner end previously referred to and the junction of the two portions 1s by means of an arcuate portion at the centre of the radius of which is a pin 60 in the respective side plate.

The trays are therefore capable of moving between the operating position, shown in FIGURE 2, outwardly to the intermediate position shown in FIGURE 4, in both such positions each tray being substantially horizontal. It will be noted that each tray follows a substantially translational path between its operating and intermediate positions. For the receiving tray14'this path is generally tangential to the master roller 18 while for the feeding tray 15 the path is generally tangential to the moistening roller 19.

From this intermediate position each tray is capable of pivoting about the pins 60 in the side plates whilst the pins 56 move in the slots 57 and the latter part of this movement is a substantially vertical downward movement of the tray, until it takes up this position shown in FIG- URE l, the extension 28 and 40 being moved into their respective positions so as to fill the gap between the outer ends thereof, and the top cover of the machine.

The machine is operated by an electric motor 62 which is shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 3, a right angle drive assembly 63 connecting the output of this motor 62 with a pulley shaft 64, on which is mounted a pulley 65 and over this pulley a belt 66 passes, this belt being of the form including a series of teeth 67 engaging in recesses spaced around the radially outwardly presented surfaces of the pulley 65 and a further pulley 69 over which the belt passes.

The pulley shaft 64 is mounted to permit of positional adjustment by the provision of an elongated slot 68 in the side plate 10. The pulley 69 is freely rotatably mounted on the spindle 70 of the master roller 18, which spindle extends through the side plate 19 as previously referred to.

Mounted between the pulley 69 and the spindle 70 is provided a clutch assembly 71 which is controlled through linkage comprising the lever 72 which is selectively engageable with a dog 74 attached to the part-of the clutch assembly 71 rotatable with the master roller 18. The lever 72 is pivoted to a lever 78 at 73 and the lever 78 is controlled in response to movement of a control knob 75 having a cam (not shown) which bears on an end portion 80 of the lever 78 which is pivoted at 79. When the dog 74 engages the lever 72 the clutch slips so that the master roller 18 is not driven. The springs 76 and 77 are arranged so as to be capable of holding the levers 72 and 78 in either their operative or inoperative positions.

The knob 75 may be turned to release the dog 74 so that the roller 18 makes one printing revolution and then the dog again engages with the lever 72 and the master roller is stopped thus permitting the paper to be fed into a clamp on the roller (not shown), and held in place in readiness for printing.

In the interests of economy in manufacture the trays may be formed of a synthetic resinous material by an injection moulding process, and this also contributes to the light weight of the machine.

The invention therefore permits of the ready servicing of the machine and in arranging the rollers on the trays reduces the risk of damage caused by failure to remove the pressure rollers from contact with their associated rollers, since when the trays are folded into the closed position as shown in FIGURE 1, the rollers 31 and 41 are out of contact with the moistening roller 19 or master roller 18 respectively.

What we then claim is:

1. A duplicating machine comprising a body, a first roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, a tray mounted on the body for movement between operating and closed positions, the tray in its operating position having an upwardly-presented surface to support copy sheets during part of their passage through the machine, a second roller rotatably mounted on the tray adjacent to one end thereof, said rollers forming a nip for the passage of copy sheets when the tray is in its operating position, complementary mounting means on the second roller and the tray allowing movement of the second roller relative to the tray in directions towards and away from the first roller when the tray is in its operating position, means for urging the second roller into the desired nipping relation with the first roller, and co-operating guide means on the body and the tray to guide the latter during movement between said positions, said guide means defining a generally translational path for the tray during its initial movement from the operating position to an intermediate position between said operating and closed positions, said translational path being generally tangential to the first roller, the rollers being out of contact when the tray is 6 at its intermediate position and the second roller being accessible for servicing.

2. A duplicating machine comprising a body, a moistening roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, a tray mounted on the body for movement between operating and closed positions, the tray in its operating position having an upwardly-presented surface to support copy sheets during part of their passage through the machine, a moistening pressure roller rotatably mounted on the tray adjacent to one end thereof, said rollers forming a nip for the passage of copy sheets when the tray is in its operating position, oppositely disposed recesses provided on the tray adjacent to said one end, blocks slidably received in said recesses, complementary means on the moistening pressure roller and the blocks to mount said roller rotatably in the blocks, spring means in the recesses urging said roller into nipping engagement with the moistening roller when the tray is in its operating posi tion, and co-operating guide means on the body and the tray to guide the latter during movement between said positions, said guide means defining a generally translational path for the tray during its initial movementfrom the operating position to an intermediate position between said operating and closed positions, said translational path being generally tangential to the moistening roller, the rollers being out of contact when the tray is at its intermediate position and the moistening pressure roller being accessible for servicing.

3. A duplicating machine comprising a body, a master roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, a tray mounted on the body for movement between operating and closed positions, the tray in its operating position having an upwardly-presented surface to support copy sheets during part of their passage through the machine, a pressure roller rotatably mounted on the tray adjacent one end thereof, said rollers forming a printing couple for copy sheets When the tray is in its operating position, oppositely disposed recesses on the tray adjacent said one end, plates slidably received in said recesses, bearing means interposed between the plates and the pressure roller to mount the latter rotatably in the plates, means to adjust the positions of the plates relative to the recesses, an eccentric spindle mounted on the body, means to rotate said spindle, abutment means on the tray to co-operate with the spindle when the tray is in its operating position whereby rotation of said spindle moves the tray to adjust the nip between the master and pressure rollers, and cooperating guide means on the body and the tray to guide the latter during movement between said positions, said guide means defining a generally translational path for the tray during its initial movement from the operating position to an intermediate position between said operating and closed positions, said translational path being generally tangential to the master roller, the rollers being out of contact when the tray is at its intermediate position and the pressure roller being accessible for servicing.

4. A duplicating machine comprising a body, a master roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, a moistening roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, two trays each movable on the body between an operating position and a closed position, each tray in its operating position having an upwardly-presenting surfaceto support copy sheets during part of their passage through the machine, a pressure roller rotatably mounted on one tray adjacent one end thereof and associated with the master roller to form a printing couple when said tray is in its operating position, a moistening pressure roller rotatably mounted on the other of said trays adjacent one end thereof and associated with the moistening roller to form a nip for the moistening of copy sheets when said other tray is in its operating position, complementary mounting means on each tray and the roller mounted thereon for allowing movement of the roller on the tray in directions towards and away from its associated roller on the body when the trays are in their operating positions, means for urging the rollers on the trays into nipping relation with their associated rollers on the body, and co-operating guide means on the body and the trays to guide the latter during movement between said positions, said guide means defining a generally translational path for each tray during its initial movement from its operating position to its closed position, each such translational path being generally tangential to the roller on the body associated with the roller on the tray, the pressure roller and the pressure moistening roller being out of contact with the master roller and the moistening roller respectively and being accessible for servicing when the trays are at their intermediate positions.

5. A duplicating machine comprising a body, a master roller rotatable about a fixed aXis on the body, a moistening roller rotatable about a fixed axis on the body, two trays each movable on the body between an operating position and a closed position, each tray in its operating position having an upwardly-presented surface to support copy sheets during part of their passage through the machine, a pressure roller rotatably mounted on one tray adjacent one end thereof and associated with the master roller to form a printing couple when said tray is in its operating position, oppositely disposed'recesses provided on said one tray adjacent said one end, plates slidably received in said recesses, bearing means interposed between the plates and the pressure roller to mount the latter rotatably in the plates, means to adjust the positions of the plates relative to the recesses, an eccentric spindle mounted on the body, means to rotate said spindle, abutment means on said one tray to co-operate with the spindle when the tray is in its operating position whereby rotation of said spindle moves the tray to adjust the nip between the master and pressure rollers, oppositely disposed recesses provided on said other tray adjacent said one end, blocks slidably received in said recesses, complementary means on the moistening pressure roller and the blocks to mount said roller rotatably in the blocks, spring means in the recesses urging said roller into nipping engagement with the moistening roller when the tray is in its operating position, and co-operating guide means on the body and the trays to guide the latter during movement between said positions, said guide means defining a generally translational path for each tray during its initial movement from its operating position to its closed position, each such translational path being generally tangential to the roller on the body associated with the roller on the tray, the pressure roller and the pressure moistening roller being out of contact with the master roller and the moistening roller respectively and being accessible for servicing when the trays are at their intermediate positions.

6. A duplicator according to claim 5 wherein, when the trays are in their operating positions the rollers carried thereby are mutually adjacent and wherein the trays move apart as they move from their operating positions to their intermediate positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,028,885 Klaber June 11, 1912 1,496,765 Ayers June 10, 1924 2,150,744 Marchev Mar. 14, 1939 2,632,388 Smith Mar. 24, 1953 2,993,438 Stephenson July 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,022,301 France Mar. 3, 1953 

1. A DUPLICATING MACHINE COMPRISING A BODY, A FIRST ROLLER ROTATABLE ABOUT A FIXED AXIS ON THE BODY, A TRAY MOUNTED ON THE BODY FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPERATING AND CLOSED POSITIONS, THE TRAY IN ITS OPERATING POSITION HAVING AN UPWARDLY-PRESENTED SURFACE TO SUPPORT COPY SHEETS DURING PART OF THEIR PASSAGE THROUGH THE MACHINE, A SECOND ROLLER ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE TRAY ADJACENT TO ONE END THEREOF, SAID ROLLERS FORMING A NIP FOR THE PASSAGE OF COPY SHEETS WHEN THE TRAY IS IN ITS OPERATING POSITION, COMPLEMENTARY MOUNTING MEANS ON THE SECOND ROLLER AND THE TRAY ALLOWING MOVEMENT OF THE SECOND ROLLER RELATIVE TO THE TRAY IN DIRECTIONS TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE FIRST ROLLER WHEN THE TRAY IS IN ITS OPERATING POSITION, MEANS FOR URGING THE SECOND ROLLER INTO THE DESIRED NIPPING RELATION WITH THE FIRST ROLLER, AND CO-OPERATING GUIDE MEANS ON THE BODY AND THE TRAY TO GUIDE THE LATTER DURING MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID POSITIONS, SAID GUIDE MEANS DEFINING A GENERALLY TRANSLATIONAL PATH FOR THE TRAY DURING ITS INITIAL MOVEMENT FROM THE OPERATING POSITION TO AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION BETWEEN SAID OPERATING AND CLOSED POSITIONS, SAID TRANSLATIONAL PATH BEING GENERALLY TANGENTIAL TO THE FIRST ROLLER, THE ROLLERS BEING OUT OF CONTACT WHEN THE TRAY IS AT ITS INTERMEDIATE POSITION AND THE SECOND ROLLER BEING ACCESSIBLE FOR SERVICING. 